HBO Falls to Third at the Emmys for the First Time Since 1996

The last time HBO ranked in third place among television outlets in total Emmy nominations, Bill Clinton and Bob Dole were gearing up for a presidential election and the “Macarena” was sweeping the nation.

On Wednesday, HBO, as well as its accompanying streaming service Max, earned 91 Emmy nominations, down from its massive haul last year (127), and trailing both Netflix (107) and FX (93) this year.

For the first time since 1996, before “The Sopranos” or “Sex and the City” even premiered, HBO finds itself neither in first nor second place.

For the better part of the last year, the network has encountered an unusual fallow period.

Ever since “Succession” wrapped up in May 2023, HBO released several series that failed to connect with critics or a broad audience. That includes the expensive music drama flop, “The Idol”; the Kate Winslet limited series, “The Regime”; and the now canceled “Winning Time.”

For some time, HBO executives have been telegraphing that if the network had a down year at the Emmys, production delays caused by last year’s double strikes would be to blame. An Emmy voter favorite like “The White Lotus,” for instance, might have premiered already if not for last year’s walkouts. Still, every outlet was severely affected by the strikes, not just HBO.

Emmy recognition has long been of outsize significance to HBO executives, providing key evidence that it remains the pre-eminent home for quality television. In 1997, HBO became the first cable network to lead all networks in nominations. And for the better part of the last two decades, HBO has been the heavyweight. It previously ranked first every year in total Emmy nominations since 2001, except in 2018 and 2020. (HBO finished in second place each of those two years, behind Netflix.)